Second man charged in 2016 fire at Wausau's Cabaret tavern

WAUSAU - A second man has been charged with being part of starting a fire that significantly damaged a tavern in 2016.

Robert F. Hernandez, 33, Wausau, was charged Thursday with being a party to the crime of arson for the Aug. 4, 2016, fire at Cabaret tavern, 204 E. Rib Mountain Drive, Wausau. Tony J. Patterson Jr., 39, who is listed as homeless in court records, was charged Sept. 19 with being a party to the crime of arson for the same fire.

Hernandez and Patterson were kicked out of the Cabaret after Patterson had been involved in a fight in the tavern. When the two men went back to the tavern and were told they weren't welcome, Hernandez became angry because he said he had not been involved in the fight.

A bartender at the Cabaret told detectives that she had seen a car with Hernandez and Patterson inside driving slowly past the tavern during the week before the fire occurred. A man reported seeing a vehicle matching the same description outside the tavern the morning of the fire.

Tony Patterson Jr.(Photo: Photo courtesy Wausau Police Depart)

Police tracked the car to a home a couple of blocks from the fire. Officers checked the alleys between the home and the Cabaret and found a cellphone and wallet that belonged to Hernandez.

Police talked to a woman at the home who denied knowing anything about the vehicle parked outside. Police later learned the woman's nephew let Patterson and Hernandez into the home after they knocked on the door at about 4:30 a.m. Aug. 4, 2016.

Both men face a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted of the charge of arson. Marathon County Circuit Judge LaMont Jacobson found enough evidence during a hearing Friday to move the case against Patterson forward. Patterson's next appearance is scheduled for Oct. 31. Hernandez is scheduled to make his first appearance in the case Oct. 26.